Greater Manchester announces speakers for Manimation 2015

MIDAS, Greater Manchester’s inward investment agency, and The Children’s Media Conference, the UK’s premier organisation for the children’s content industries, are once again teaming up to present Manimation 2015.

Now in its third year, Manimation informs companies and freelancers about key factors for success in working in children’s animation, visual effects, interactive technologies, games, apps, virtual / augmented reality and commercial animation.

The conference follows on from a successful 2014 edition at which Cathal Gaffney, CEO of Brown Bag Films, shared insight into how to succeed in the industry and announced the opening of a 2D animation office in Manchester. This year the event will take place at HOME on the 19 November, where it will run exclusive business and inspiration sessions for the animation community.

Three respected Greater Manchester animation professionals have already been announced as part of this year’s speaker line-up, with more to follow. These are:

Mole Hill, director of the Clangers, the cult classic recently brought back to UK TV by Manchester animation company Factory.

Mike Robinson, head of studio at CHF Entertainment, founded on the legacy of Cosgrove Hall which produced such British classics as Danger Mouse, Count Duckula, The Wind in the Willows, and The BFG.

David Barton, producer at Cubic Motion, a sophisticated facial animation company that have worked on titles including Batman: Arkham Knight, Halo 4: Spartan Ops, and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.

This year’s conference will also coincide with the inaugural Manchester Animation Festival (MAF), which has recently announced its full line-up of guest speakers, workshops, masterclasses, retrospectives, panel discussions and feature screenings.

MAF will run a session named ‘Making it in Manchester’, in which a panel of animation professionals will discuss the past, present and exciting future of animation in the region. This event will take place on the evening of Wednesday 18 November, and will allow free entry to Manimation Delegates.

Tim Newns, chief executive of MIDAS, part of Manchester Growth Company said: “Greater Manchester has long been an industry leader in animation, with a decorated and respected heritage of content creators.

“Today, Manchester has developed a talented, creative and uniquely diverse cluster of animation professionals, which makes Manimation a fantastic opportunity for regional, national and international delegates to gain industry insight and form valuable connections.”